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Floor Speech

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Mr. RISCH. Mr. President, today, the Senate is considering the Chile tax convention. This treaty has been approved by substantial bipartisan majorities in the Foreign Relations Committee in four separate Congresses and has been pending since 2012. It is past time to approve it and provide needed relief to U.S. investors and businesses in Chile.

Without ratifications, Chilean taxes on U.S. company operations in Chile will rise up to 44 percent in 2027 when the special waiver expires. Meanwhile, our competitors with Chilean operations would only pay a 35-percent rate. That includes companies with headquarters in Japan, Canada, Australia, Britain, and, of course, China.

Tax treaties help the business community by minimizing uncertainty and promoting a favorable business environment. A tax convention with Chile eliminates double taxation, provides certainty, and is a natural counterpart to our free-trade agreement with Chile.

This treaty provides tools to ensure U.S. taxpayers will be treated equally and fairly in Chile. It allows them to invest and compete with the knowledge that they will not face discriminatory barriers. The treaty provides tools to help resolve tax disputes between the United States and our tax treaty partners. Without such tools, U.S. investors would have limited ability to resolve these problems on their own. It is not just businesses that will benefit from this treaty; the convention imposes reasonable limits on the amount of tax Chile can impose on U.S. persons who might live or work in Chile. Finally, this treaty will help us prevent tax fraud in Chile.

The tax convention has been held up for a decade. I am pleased that we are finally moving it forward today. I urge my colleagues to approve this Chile convention. It is a treaty, of course, and requires two- thirds vote.

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